The book is a prime example of how the form of an object evolves according to its function. Humans can’t help improving and inventing, and books are no exception.

A previous owner customized our copy of The Life of Rev. David Brainerd (1834) by insetting a glass-covered daguerreotype plate.

See this and many other well loved books, on display now in our main gallery as part of our current exhibition, The Living Book: New Perspectives on Form and Function.

thelivingbook.librarycompany.org

Jonathan Edwards, The Life of Rev. David Brainerd (New York, 1834). Michael Zinman Binding Collection.

Who said geometry isn’t a piece of cake? 

Our copy of The Childs Pictorial Geometry (Hartford, 1841) on display in our current exhibition, The Living Book : New Perspectives on Form and Function, is one of many books we have that aims to teach its readers. On each page a boy and a girl discuss their surroundings in terms of geometry. The presence of the girl throughout the book is significant because girls were not depicted as active learners of math or science very often. 

The Childs Pictorial Geometry. [Hartford] : Published by E.B. & E.C. Kellogg, 1841. 

This delicate incire paper-cutting lives inside our copy of Leisure Hours (1844), right where the reader placed it. Come check out this and other items found in books on view now in our main gallery as part of our current exhibition, The Living Book: New Perspective on Form and Function. 

Andrews, E. A. (Ethan Allen), 1787-1858. Leisure hours: : a choice collection of readings in prose. / By Prof. E.A. Andrews.. New illustrated edition. Boston: : T.H. Carter & Co. and B.B. Mussey., 1844. [3], 6-340 p., [5] leaves of plates :  ill. ;  20 cm

Library Company conservators have gathered a wide assortment of materials highlighting new perspectives on the material culture of the book. This multimedia exhibition will look at the book as an object and a tool for education, reflection, and fun.

Opening TODAY!! 

The Living Book : New Perspectives on Form and Function curated by the Library Company’s conservation department, where the love of the book knows no bounds, but maybe all bindings.                           

Tomorrow we welcome Michael Zinman, renowned collector of Americana and inventor of the critical mess theory of collecting, to speak at our Annual Meeting reception and celebrate the opening of our exhibit, The Living Book: New Perspectives on Form and Function. Mr. Zinman has given the Library Company some amazing additions to our collection including texts for the blind and many with unique bindings, such as this dos-a-dos, Psalms and Hymns (1810), on display in the gallery. 

Psalms and Hymns (New York, 1810).  The Michael Zinman Binding Collection.

Life and Loves: adventures with books and booksellers (highly enjoyable and often successful); with women (entertaining but a non-starter in this environment); and with my epiphanies du jour (invariably disastrous); in all, a merry dessert for a merry evening. To attend, register HERE. 

You may recall book conservator, Alice Austin, showing off this ca. 1850 handmade tunnel book depicting the Thames Tunnel thoroughfare, posted in September 2015. Since then, Alice has continued her research on tunnel books and will be presenting on the subject at The Living Book Symposium on Thursday, May 18, 2017! 

Catch Alice, Mark Dimunation, Chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, and Russell Maret, type designer and private press printer, as they share their unique perspectives on the book. For more info, visit the event page HERE. Hope to see you  there! 

[Handmade tunnel book showing an enclosed thoroughfare] [graphic].
Published  ca. 1850. Description  1 item:  watercolor and pencil;  folded to 9 x 9 cm (3.5 x 3.57 in.) (accordion format)

Conservator, Andrea Krupp, arranges one of her sections of the upcoming Library Company exhibit The Living Book : New Perspectives on Form and Function opening Tuesday, May 9th! 

We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Earth Day than with this lovingly crafted album of leaf prints by Joannis Oerii (1759). This volume will be on display in our upcoming exhibit, The Living Book : New Perspectives on Form and Function. 

Oerii, Joannis. Specimen herbarii typico-vivi … . [Europe : s.n., 1759.]

Reminder: this Friday, April 21st, is the last day to see Together We Win: The Philadelphia Homefront During the First World War, in our main gallery space.

Vic Forsythe. And They Thought We Couldn’t Fight (Philadelphia, [1919]). Color lithograph. Gift of Mrs. Freeman.

According to a note on the back of this poster, Mrs. Freeman brought this and several other posters to the Library Company, probably in the spring of 1919. As Chair of South Philadelphia’s Liberty Loan Committee, Mrs. Freeman distributed posters encouraging the public to purchase bonds for the Victory Loan drive. Corinne Keen Freeman was the wife of Library Company shareholder Dr. Walter R. Jackson Freeman and the daughter of William Williams Keen, another Library Company shareholder.

Remember to take a look at the online version of our Together We Win exhibition!

Can vegetables, fruit and the Kaiser too! 

Together We Win: The Philadelphia Homefront during the First World War closes on Friday, April 21st. If you haven’t stopped by yet, make sure you do. If you are unable to make it, you can check out our WWI poster collection, era music, and the WWI Test Kitchen at http://togetherwewin.librarycompany.org/

Verrees, J. Paul, 1889- , artist. Can Vegetables Fruit and the Kaiser Too. 1918. 1 print: 20.75 X 14 in.